


Roadside Attraction

by Gort



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 90s AU, Cameras that use actual film, F/M, Roadtrips, Small Town Blues, background fitzsimmons if you squint, cameo by the world's largest cow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23187067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gort/pseuds/Gort
Summary: 90s AU. All Daisy wants is to get out of her tiny town, but until then, she'll have to rely on the excitement of developing everyone else's vacation photos.Beta'd by sunalso!
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Antoine Triplett
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21





	Roadside Attraction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [accio-the-force (XOLove47)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XOLove47/gifts).



“Are we playing Goldeneye tonight or what?” Daisy asked, propping her chin on one hand and lifting her dark hair off the back of her neck. Maybe she should chop it all off again, or at least shave the underside. 

The air conditioner valiantly attempted to combat the unexpected June heatwave, but it was still too freaking hot. On the other side of the glass doors of Coulson’s Convenience, the pavement was shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.

Her little shoebox apartment was going to be absolutely stifling. Fitz might grumble about staying with his mom in the middle of podunk, Colorado until the fall semester started, but she always had lemonade and name-brand snacks, which was way better than the nothing in Daisy’s fridge. She was saving her pennies, but her dream of getting her own wheels and seeing the world was still a long way off from becoming reality. In the meantime, she was stuck living vicariously through her best friend and everyone’s vacation photos.

“Or what,” Fitz said, lying partially under the bulky photo machine next to her. It’d made a funny noise during its last cycle, and even though Daisy had pointed out the photos printed fine, he’d started poking at it anyway.

She rolled her eyes and flipped through the last set of photos that’d come came out to make sure there weren’t any overexposed ones she’d missed, and paused at the image of an imposing hotel with a stark mountain backdrop. “Hey, look at this.” She turned the photo toward Fitz as he poked his head out.

His brow furrowed. “Is that...?”

The front doors swooshed open and a guy Daisy had never seen before sauntered in. His white t-shirt set off his rich brown skin and highlighted a pair of broad shoulders. He didn’t look at all perturbed by the heat outside. She straightened up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, hoping he’d attribute her red face to the temperature and not the fact that he was definitely the hottest man she’d seen all summer.

“Hey,” he said with an easy smile. “I dropped off some film last night.”

“Uh huh,” Daisy said, unable to take her eyes off his mouth-watering biceps. She really hoped he was new in town and not just passing through, but knowing her luck, it was the latter.

There was a long pause.

“I think those are mine?” the man said, gesturing at her hands.

Daisy immediately dropped the neat stack of photos, watching in horror as they scattered across the countertop and slipped over the edge, fluttering to the floor all around him.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said, scrambling out from behind the counter. Ugh, he was going to think she was a complete moron.

He crouched down beside her as she began picking them up off the floor, trying not to bend the corners, and gathered a few himself. “Here, let me-”

“No, it’s my fault,” Daisy interrupted. “I didn’t mean…” She leaned forward to get a wayward photo and immediately clonked her nose on his shoulder as he went for the same one.

“Shit,” he muttered, putting a hand on her arm to steady her. “Are you okay?”

Daisy rubbed her nose. Damn, he felt as solid as he looked. His hand was large and warm and she really, really couldn’t be making a worse first impression. “I’m fine,” she squeaked, face burning.

His smile returned and she was pretty sure it should be classified as a weapon of mass destruction it was so devastating.

“Here.” She thrust the pictures into his hands. “I’ll get your envelope, sorry.” How she managed to stand when her knees were so wobbly, she had no idea, but somehow, she did it. She cleared her throat and grabbed the envelope containing his film. ‘Trip’ was the only name scrawled hastily across the top of the drop-off slip, and she carefully copied it before handing it over.

“Sorry about that, Mr. Trip.”

“It’s just Trip,” he said, taking his time putting the photos away. He looked at her expectantly, and it took her a second to realize what he was waiting for.

“Oh! I’m, uh, my name is Daisy. If you need photos developed, I’m your girl.” She couldn’t seem to stop babbling. “Been working here since high school. And after, because I graduated, obviously.” She waved at the pictures, desperate to find a way out of this awkwardness. “I bet it was much cooler up at Estes.” Daisy bit her lip and wanted to sink through the floor. Shit, she wasn’t supposed to advertise she’d gone through his photos.

“It was,” Trip replied, seemingly unperturbed. “You ever see The Shining?”

Daisy could only nod, her throat dry.

“Great movie. The hotel was awesome. Have you been?”

“No,” she managed, even though she hated admitting she hadn’t been anywhere outside of her small corner of the world.

Trip smiled down at the stack of photos. “You should visit sometime. Thanks for these. I’ll see you later, Daisy.”

“Bye,” she croaked as he disappeared out into the bright afternoon sunshine like a hot-man mirage.

“What the hell was that about?” Fitz asked, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

“Nothing,” Daisy said too quickly. 

He snorted. “Sure. You want me to get a mop for your puddle of drool?”

“Like you don’t spend every night in a chatroom with Jems77,” Daisy countered.

“We’re working on a joint project for next semester!”

“I bet you are,” Daisy smirked.

“Shut up.”

#

The next time she saw Trip, it was right before the store doors opened to admit him and she debated fleeing to the back, but Fitz would know exactly why she was hiding and make fun of her for days.

Steeling herself, Daisy finished loading the next roll of film in the machine—which wasn’t making a weird noise any more thanks to Fitz’s preternatural affinity for machines—and pretended not to notice their latest customer. Sure, maybe it was like pretending not to notice last week’s annual fireworks show in the middle of town, but she had a tiny bit of dignity left. It wasn’t like he came in here for her.

“Hey,” Trip said, leaning on her photo counter. “How’s it going, Daisy?”

She squinted at the buttons on the machine like she was reading them for the very first time and tried to remain calm about the fact that he remembered her name. She glanced over and gave him her professional, customer service smile. Fine, maybe it was a little flirtier than her usual one, but seriously, who could resist a face like that. His chin was beardier than she remembered. It looked good on him. Not that anything could look bad on him.

“Hey,” she said back, turning to rifle through the stack of photo envelopes. “Trip, right?”

“In the flesh.” His smile got a little brighter, and she willed her face not to turn bright red. It was gloomy outside, with a summer thunderstorm looming on the horizon, so the sun was no excuse this time.

“Here you go.” She handed over an envelope of photos without incident, proud that she hadn’t made a fool of herself.

She’d been surprised to see his name on the drop-off slip, and had half-convinced herself that it was a different Trip entirely. She hadn’t seen him around town, and it wasn’t that big of a place, so she was pretty sure he wasn’t a local. Maybe he was a long-haul trucker or something. She guessed he was in his mid-twenties, which hopefully meant he wouldn’t try to compare college stories with her. She hadn’t applied and wasn’t planning on going, no matter how much Phil talked it up. She’d never been big on structure. 

“Thanks, Daisy,” Trip said, opening the envelope. The way he said her name, deep and slow, sent a thrill up her spine.

“You’re welcome.”

“I was just over in Reno,” he continued, making no move to leave.

“Yeah?” she asked. That was over a thousand miles away. The need to get on the road and explore was a tangible ache in her chest. She had a dog-eared atlas of the United States marked up with possible routes stretching from coast to coast. Someday, she’d see so much more than the dusty hills surrounding her.

“Went to the Air Races,” he said. “My grandfather loved planes, even though he never stepped foot on one.” Trip’s smile dimmed a little. “He would have had a blast.”

He spread his photos over the counter and Daisy touched one that was almost all sky with the silver belly of an airplane shining in the sunlight.

“Is that a P-51 Mustang?” Fitz said, snatching up the image. Daisy hadn’t even noticed him walk over.

“Yeah, man,” Trip said, leaning a hip against the counter and folding his arms. “There was a ton of cool shit.” He was in a navy-blue t-shirt today that made his biceps look just as good as last time. It was hard not to stare. 

“They’re beautiful,” Daisy said, touching the corner of another photo showing a cherry red plane on the ground. Though it didn’t hold a candle to the guy standing in front of her.

“You like planes?” Trip asked.

She shrugged. “I’ve never been on one either,” she admitted.

“These are nothing like today’s planes,” Fitz said. “Look at this one!” He picked up another image, but Trip kept his eyes on Daisy.

“You prefer driving?” Trip asked.

“I guess,” Daisy said, striving for nonchalant. She would if she had a car.

Trip’s smile got a little warmer, and Daisy found herself smiling back. “Me too.”

#

This time, she was ready for him.

She’d found the roll of film in the overnight slot with ‘See you tomorrow’ scribbled across the top in Trip’s messy handwriting and hadn’t been able to stop smiling. Fitz had told her she was creeping him out and escaped to the back to do inventory, leaving her alone in the front of the store.

Trip strolled in, wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans, and broke out a broad smile when he saw her. “Girl, how have you been?” 

The sight of him warmed her straight to her toes, though the late July weather was doing its best to compete with him. He was winning.

“Hi, Trip,” she said.

“Guess where I went,” he said, bracing his hands on her counter.

“Where?” she asked, pulling out the envelope she’d set aside earlier. She’d been tempted to peek, but she was starting to think he enjoyed these little chats almost as much she didn’t and didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

He whistled a familiar refrain and Daisy gasped. “Oh my god, Devil’s Tower?”

“Yes!” Trip laughed, his whole face lighting up, and it took her breath away. “I knew you had great taste in movies.”

“What did it look like?” she asked, eagerly leaning over the counter.

“Like a pile of mashed potatoes,” he deadpanned.

A snort escaped before she could stop it, and he looked so pleased with himself she couldn’t even be embarrassed. “No seriously,” she said.

“I am serious!” He pulled out the photos and spread them across her counter, leaning on his forearms and getting into her space. “Check these out.”

Daisy gasped and leaned closer. “I’ve always wanted to see it,” she said, envy curling through her.

“Me too,” he said, their heads almost touching. “Do you know the legend?”

“No,” Daisy said, a finger tracing the deep furrows in the rock captured in one of his photographs.

“Well,” Trip began, his voice quiet and intimate. “The story goes like this…”

#

“Your boyfriend’s back,” Fitz said.

“Shut up,” Daisy retorted, but she reached up to check her hair anyway. She’d chopped off a couple of inches because August showed no signs of being any cooler than July. It’d been almost three weeks since Trip had been through, not that she’d counted or anything, and she’d started to worry he wasn’t ever coming back.

He’d stuck around for almost an hour last time, talking about his trip to Devil’s Tower, and she’d learned several things about him. One, he was an aspiring travel writer, not a trucker; two, he’d just graduated from college and this was his celebratory summer road trip; and three, he’d grown up in California with his grandparents. Plus, bonus, he smelled freaking delicious.

Daisy hadn’t quite come straight out and told him she didn’t know her parents, but she was pretty sure he’d picked up on it and hadn’t once asked about her family. It’d been nice to talk to someone who understood. They had the same taste in movies and while Trip had admitted he wasn’t into the new digital cameras, he’d listened to her drone on about them for way longer than most people did.

“Hey, Daisy,” Trip said, coming through the glass doors. “Fitz,” he added, nodding in Fitz’s direction.

Fitz lifted a hand and went back to scribbling on his notepad. He’d been doing that for a week now—something about a new project with Jems77—and the technical drawings were getting more and more elaborate. She had no idea what they were working on, but she was pretty sure Fitz was going to be snapped up by someone like Stark the second he graduated.

Leaving her alone. Again.

“What’s up?” Trip said, bracing his hands against the photo counter. “You okay?” His eyes were soft, and for a second, she was tempted to blurt out all her fears before reining in the impulse. He didn’t need to know about that stuff. He was just a nice guy who found this corner of her state a convenient stop-over between his adventures.

“Fine,” she said, trying to shake off her melancholy. “How are you? Where are you coming from this time? Somewhere amazing, I’m sure.”

He tilted his head like he was trying to decide something before he reached for the photo envelope she’d left on the counter. “It was amazing. Want to see?”

“I’d love to.”

At least that wasn’t a lie. She might be a teensy bit jealous, but his enthusiasm kept the worst of it at bay. He seemed to genuinely enjoy sharing his photos with her, and until she could afford to go on her own, this was a little like getting to tag along.

“I was in Monument Valley,” he said. “The colors are incredible.”

He spread out an array of photographs, the rocks ranging from stunning amber to coppery red, all of them towering over the desert floor. The sky looked so blue it was almost unreal. “It’s beautiful,” she said, picking up a few.

“They shot a lot of westerns there, back in the day,” he said.

“I think Indiana Jones, too,” she said absently, picking up another photo.

“Yeah?” he asked. “Huh.” His tone was a little too innocent.

She slanted a look at him. “You knew that.”

“I did,” he admitted. “But I kind of enjoy your movie lectures.”

“You’re a dork,” she said fondly.

“Takes one to know one.”

Daisy reached out and smacked his arm. Her hand maybe lingered a little too long, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I like the haircut,” he said.

She felt a blush creeping up the back of her neck. “Thanks.”

#

“Did you peek?” Trip asked, his expression as close to serious as she’d ever seen.

Daisy rolled her eyes. “No!”

Sure, the ‘do not peek’ instructions scrawled across the top of his film drop-off slip had made it extra tempting, but she’d triumphed over her curiosity in the end.

“Here,” Fitz said, tossing the envelope on the counter when he emerged from the back.

By making Fitz hide the photos so she couldn’t find them.

She shrugged when Trip lifted his eyebrows questioningly. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. You ready for this?”

“I don’t know, am I?”

Trip laughed. “I hope so.”

He pulled out the photos and laid them on her counter with a flourish. Daisy blinked for a minute, then let out a disbelieving laugh and picked one up. “What is it?”

“The World’s Largest Cow,” Trip said proudly, like he’d built it himself.

“This is a thing?” she asked. One leg of the huge cow statue took up most of the photo she was holding, and the children frolicking around it didn’t even come up to its knee.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of excitement in North Dakota.”

“You drove to North Dakota and back in a week?” she asked.

Trip’s eyes dropped down the counter, and she’d swear he blushed a little. “You seemed like you could use some cheering up.”

She stared at him for a minute, at a loss for words. That was a long way to drive just to make her laugh, and a part of her really wanted that to mean more than it possibly could, but he just had a really big heart. She was seriously going to miss him when he stopped coming around. California was a long way away. In another week, Fitz would be heading back to school, too. Then all she had to look forward to was a long, miserable winter stuck right here while everyone else moved on to bigger and better things. 

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

“Did it work?” he asked, reaching out to cover her hand with his own. A spark of electricity raced up her arm.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly.

His eyes crinkled at the corners and his smile widened. “Good.”

#

It was raining. Again. It felt like it’d been raining for weeks.

The end of September had been a miserable slog of gray days and quiet nights. Fitz was too busy to chat much since he’d started school, although these days he pretty much only talked about Jems77 anyways. For the first time, Daisy seriously thought she might be missing out by not going to college.

Pretty much the only bright spot in her days were the letters Trip sent from California. The first one had arrived shortly after the giant cow pictures (she had one taped to the wall behind her counter), sent from somewhere in Arizona as he made his way back west. He’d sent it to the store, addressed to ‘Daisy in the Photo Center’ and Phil had handed it over without a word, though she knew he was dying to ask.

She missed Trip and his smile, but at least he hadn’t forgotten her. Not yet, anyway, even though there were thousands of girls in California who were probably more interesting than she would ever be.

“Looks like someone’s braving the weather,” Phil said from his spot at the front counter. He had a pair of glasses perched on his nose as he peered at an enormous ledger. He preferred doing inventory by hand and then transferring the numbers to the computer, which meant he did twice the amount of work, but every time Daisy pointed that out, he shrugged and said he liked it that way.

Outside, Daisy could just make out a figure dashing through the downpour. The doors swooshed open, and for a moment, her heart stopped.

“Hey, girl,” Trip said, grinning at her. Water dripped from his jacket and he swiped a hand over his bare scalp, wiping away the droplets there.

“Hi,” Daisy said, her voice catching.

“Hi,” Phil echoed, sounding amused.

Daisy shot him a look.

“I’ll just go, uh, check on some stuff,” Phil said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder before he disappeared.

“What are you…” Daisy trailed off, not sure she cared. God, it was nice to see him. His smile was even more brilliant than she remembered. “Dropping off some film?” she asked instead.

Trip sauntered over to her counter and braced his hands on the glass. “Nah, I’m here for something else.”

Daisy’s heart was beating double-time in her chest. “What’s that?”

“You ever hear of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta?”

She nodded, trying to tamp down the hope rising within her. “Yep.”

“Well,” he said, “I’m supposed to cover it next week.”

She gasped. “You got another assignment?” His last letter had been full of enthusiasm for a freelance gig he’d picked up at a local magazine.

“I did,” he said. “Wanna come with me?”

Daisy’s mouth dropped open. “Do I…what?”

“Come with me,” he said again, his voice taking on a tinge of nervousness. “I mean if you want. I just thought-”

“Yes,” Daisy blurted. “Hell yes, I want to come.” She released a near-hysterical laugh and launched herself over the counter at him. He caught her and lifted her over it easily, laughing too.

She buried her face against his neck as he gently set her on her feet and brushed her hair back out of her face. His eyes were so earnest she could almost believe this was a dream.

“Daisy, can I…”

“Yes,” she repeated, resisting the urge to pinch herself. If this was a dream, she sure as hell wasn’t waking herself up before the best part.

“I didn’t even finish asking!”

She curled a hand around the back of his neck and tugged him down until their lips met, the kiss soft and gentle. For a second, she just reveled in the feel of his mouth against hers, and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his solid body. Oh, hell, that was even better.

Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Trip hastily broke the kiss, though he didn’t let her go.

“Phil,” Daisy announced. “I’m gonna need to put in for some vacation days.”

“It’s about damn time,” he said.

She laughed, leaning back to look up at Trip. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” Daisy grinned. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”

Trip cupped her cheek and pressed another kiss to her lips. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Roaring 20s Rarepair exchange. Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
